Industry-Leading Manufacturers in the Pro AV Market Have Worked Together to Develop Milan

Vicent Perales, Product Manager—d&b audiotechnik GmbH Henning Kaltheuner, Head of Strategic Business Development and Market Intelligence—d&b audiotechnik GmbH

Richard Gross, President—AudioScience Genio Kronauer, Director of Electronics—L-Acoustics John McMahon, Vice President of Solutions and Strategy —Meyer Sound Jeff Rocha, Director of Product Management—L-Acoustics Greg Schlechter, Technology Marketing Strategist—Intel

Industry-leading manufacturers in the Pro AV market have worked together to develop Milan: a new network protocol built on top of IEEE AVB/TSN open standards with added technical requirements to provide a fully-realized solution that guarantees interoperable, reliable, deterministic and future-proof media networking. Leading Pro AV manufacturers, working together under the umbrella of Avnu Alliance, bring the Pro AV market a new Milan is the result of 18 months of close collaboration network protocol built on top of IEEE Audio Video Bridging amongst direct competitors including AudioScience, Avid, (AVB) / Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) open standards Biamp, d&b audiotechnik, L-Acoustics, Luminex and Meyer with added specifications to provide a fully realized solution Sound. Milan was created by the technical experts designing that guarantees interoperable, reliable, deterministic and the systems and driving product roadmaps to impress upon future-proof media networking. other manufacturers the importance of this technical transi- tion for the future of their business. Enter Milan: a thoughtfully designed and developed, user- driven protocol for professional media, built on open stan- Market leaders decided long ago that AVB is a technically dards and with the guarantee that all Milan devices will superior network technology that guarantees deterministic work together at a new level of convenience, reliability and delivery of audio, video and data, and offers a sustainable functionality. standard technology that is not limited by one company’s vision and its future development and support decisions for its technology. The Pro AV market has unique requirements for moving Avnu Alliance offers compliance testing and certification of time-sensitive video, audio, and data across the network – the foundational standard called Pro A 1.0, which is ideal for paramount as AV increasingly resides on the network. network infrastructure switches, but does not outline speci- When it comes to networked audio platforms, the profes- fication requirements for media formats, media-clocking sional industry has two major requirements. At the most and other requirements specific for AV end devices, all of basic level, it requires guaranteed delivery of high-quality which are required for practical interoperability amongst AV audio, not subject to dropouts or latency. The industry also end devices. needs to solve this with a long-term, stable and viable plat- Today, major manufacturers in the Pro AV space have taken form. When making decisions on networking infrastructure, the lead with the first tangible solution to promise determi- end users need to be confident that they’ve chosen an en- nistic, reliable and future-proof delivery of networked me- during standard and a network that can support as their dia. Building on the technical benefits of the enduring open media and data needs scale — today, tomorrow, and even AVB standard, such as time synchronization and guaranteed years from now. quality of service, as well as risk-free coexistence of control Many solutions today have been knit together using pro- and media data on one network, Milan provides defined prietary networking solutions, requiring extensive design, device requirements at both the network and the applica- installation and support work from industry professionals tion layer for media streams, formats, clocking and redun- and creating risky propositions that are not guaranteed for dancy. long-term viability. As the network has evolved and contin- Milan will be supported within Avnu Alliance with the inten- ues to scale, so has the opportunity for the industry. tion of deploying a simplified testing and certification pro- Milan is the protocol that will enable fully realized standards gram for implementation by Pro AV manufacturers. The -based networks for professional media with ensured reli- Milan initiative is a long-term approach to bringing about ability and determinism. change across the Pro Av market, and product certification will guarantee fool-proof interoperability of deterministic networked Pro AV devices. Building on the technical benefits of the enduring open standard AVB, such as time synchronization and guaranteed Seamless Interoperability Amongst Devices quality of service as well as risk-free coexistence of control  Every device will connect with any other device using a and media data on one network, Milan takes the guesswork variety of agreed-upon formats and market-required out of implementation and interoperability for manufactur- definitions in the protocol. ers with defined device requirements.

Milan guarantees the interoperability of the network eco- For the Industry, by the Industry system by adding essential agreements about the imple-  Manufacturers themselves are taking the initiative and mentation of AVB technology, including requirements for driving the development of Milan with the same en- compatible and compliant media formats, media-clocking, ergy, drive and investment that make their companies redundancy, and controller software, while ensuring those successful leaders in the market. requirements are implemented correctly through compliance testing and certification of end devices. Plug-n-Play and Deployable  As the Milan protocol guarantees interoperability at both the device media interop and device management interop layers, end users can enjoy easy deployment of Guaranteed devices on a Milan network without the need for cus- tom network configurations.  Deterministic network assures on-time delivery

 Co-exists with other Ethernet traffic without risk of Agreed-Upon Specification for True Interoperability drop-outs or degradation of media  Milan is a market-defined protocol that provides a spe- Open cific set of rules and directives for manufacturers to  Not a risky proprietary standard that is controlled by a build products with the same requirements for media single entity streams, formats, clocking and redundancy, and thus all  Choice of hardware implementation work together as designed.  Development extension managed openly by a collabo- rative group of industry leaders  Supports any type of media

Future-Proof  Certification of compliance with standards and interoperability specifications through Avnu Alliance  Assurance of long-term viability as part of the IEEE network/IT industry

Easy to Use  Enhanced time alignment features  No switch configuration required  Scalable and flexible  Does not require IT expertise to manage things like QoS configuration Manufacturers  The new Avnu Milan certification program in development will lower the entry barrier for small and mid- sized manufacturers, open new business models for companies offering services for certification, and create a market for Milan modules.  Milan offers a network ecosystem that scales into future requirements and businesses, and across a broad range of devices with any type of media content.

AV Managers  With Milan, there’s no guesswork for navigating network technology. With clearly defined features, functionality and requirements, Milan products will work with others in the market, as they are intended to, with no trial and error. AV managers are able to have their pick of certified devices mapped against needs for the network, with simple plug-and-play installation.

IT Managers  AV tech managers can have the confidence that as an enduring protocol, their IT department will embrace Milan and AVB.  Milan vastly simplifies the management of real-time media devices within local area networks.

AV System End users  Milan fulfills expectations for real plug-and-play network setup and functionality. Network structures don’t require setup or complicated switch configuration tasks.  Networks as signal and control transport structures becomes easy, fast to set up and reliable. Users can concentrate on their creative tasks.

Business decision makers  Due to their deterministic behavior, Milan network systems provide a higher degree of reliability and stability against user handling and errors. This makes them the first choice for critical system installations. Beside the media clock format, an agreed-upon sample rate Milan creates the endpoint solution layer for professional needs to be defined so devices on the network are guaran- audio equipment based on the following AVB IEEE stan- teed to be interoperable. Milan devices must support a me- dards: dia clock domain at a sample rate of 48kHz. Media clock  IEEE 802.1BA-2011 domains with 96kHz and 192kHz are also supported as optional sampling rates.  IEEE 802.1Q-2011  IEEE 802.1AS-2011  IEEE 1722-2016  IEEE 1722.1-2013 Milan defines three stream format profiles for professional audio devices based on the IEEE 1722-2016 Standard AAF Therefore, Milan defines a set of technical profiles for these Audio Format. The advantage of AAF is that it is less com- IEEE standards dedicated to professional audio endpoints: plex and more efficient than AM824. The three stream format profiles are:  Media Clocking Specification  Stream Format Specification AAF Standard Stream Maximum 8 channels per  Redundancy Specification Format (32 bit) stream, mandatory on all Milan  AVDECC Specification for Endpoints endpoints

High Capacity 32 bit Maximum 56 channels per Format stream, optional

There are a several methods that can be used for synchro- High Capacity 24 bit Maximum 64 channels per nizing media clocks on a local area network (LAN). Using an Format stream, optional AVB stream to distribute the media clock allows for several media clock domains to coexist on the same network. Talkers are free to use any channel count in their implemented formats, while listeners need to implement support What devices have to support Media Clocking? for all channel counts within their supported formats.

 Milan endpoint devices that incorporate a Media Talker  Milan endpoint devices that incorporate a Media Lis- tener with two or more streams Milan redundancy works to give ProA AVB devices the ability to endure against a number of network failures. Devices that incorporate a Media Listener with only one Milan redundancy follows the concept of duplicating the stream and no talker do not need to have a dedicated Me- network infrastructure into two independent logical net- dia Clock Input, and can just synchronize to their Media works and defines a mechanism that is capable of recover- Stream. ing seamlessly from the loss of connectivity in either the What Format and Sample Rates are supported? primary or secondary network (e.g. a broken cable or power loss of a bridge). By connecting endpoints to both networks, A number of stream formats can be used to distribute a seamless redundancy can be achieved. Milan does not spec- media clock through an AVB network. For interoperability ify a particular implementation, but rather defines the gen- purposes, Milan defines a common format that shall be sup- eral requirements that implementations must adhere to in ported by all devices capable of transmitting/receiving a order to achieve interoperability. media clock through an AVB stream in a Pro Audio AVB network. This format is based on the CRF (Clock Reference For- mat) defined in IEEE 1722-2016. In Figure 1, we have the following elements:  A primary network, com- posed of AVB switches and Ethernet cables  A secondary network, com- posed of AVB switches and Ethernet cables.  Controller 1 connected to both networks with two Ethernet interfaces.  A second, independent, Controller 2 connected to the primary network only, with a single Ethernet interface.  AVB Talker 1 and an AVB Listener 1, connected to both networks with two AVB interfaces.  AVB Talker 2 and AVB Lis- tener 2, connected to the Primary network only, with one AVB interface. Deployment clarifications:  The primary and secondary networks are not connected by any network links.  Non-redundant end stations and controllers can be used Figure 1 without disturbing the normal of the redundant system. These devices are connected to the primary network.

Milan relies on the IEEE1722.1-2013 Standard for Device Discovery, Connection Management and Control Protocol. This standard is very vast and allows many interpretations, including potentially contradictory ones. Therefore, Milan defines a profile for professional audio devices with a small subset of the standard, and tries to remove all ambiguities from this subset in order to achieve basic interoperability at the Control layer. The Milan AVDECC specification provides a consistent set of requirements that provides the following features:  Automatically discovers the addition and removal of pro audio devices on the network  Retrieves the entity model of the discovered pro audio devices  Connects and disconnects streams between the discovered pro audio devices  Obtains status information about the discovered pro audio devices and their connections  Controls the discovered pro audio devices

Milan specifications are available for download at www.avnu.org/specifications Milan is a unique solution for local production systems. Here we shall view one such example system to illustrate how Milan can be implemented.

As the Milan application layer is built upon the base AVB network layer, interconnections within functional systems comprised of various endpoint devices are based upon reserved AV streams. With Milan being an open source solution, each manufacturer benefits by being able to implement its own network systems.

Figure 2

In Figure 2, we see Manufacturer A’s functional system with three devices implemented on the Milan network, with connections from various AV devices as well as other endpoint devices from Manufacturer B all safely coexisting on the same network comprised of rather independent subsystems. Any non-media data can safely pass the structure without risks for congestion or dropouts. Video devices and signals on the Milan network can easily be integrated with the same properties for low latency (1-2ms), deterministic transport and precise synchronization. Audio to and from video devices can also directly interact with audio devices. Media clocks of the various systems can be set up and managed completely independently. Avnu Alliance provides a path to collaboration and knowl- Milan is the market-defined protocol for manufacturers cre- edge sharing with other leading industry experts in a safe ated by industry leaders and experts that provides a specific environment. set of rules and directives that allows manufacturers to build products with the same requirements for media Join Avnu Alliance today to reap these member benefits and streams, formats, clocking, and redundancy. Through the more: Avnu Alliance, Milan certified devices will be guaranteed to interoperate with one-another.  Participation in plugfests, face-to-face technical and marketing meetings, weekly and monthly marketing Milan removes the guesswork for manufacturers trying to and technical segment workgroups navigate the complicated world of networking technology.  Access to market requirement documents, compliance With Milan, it is clearly defined what features, functionality tools, testing plans and tools to expedite product certi- and requirements are to be included in new products to fication depending on membership level make them work seamlessly with others in the market.  Avnu Alliance members can submit products for certification testing including for the Milan solution.

The Avnu Alliance has been hard at work to develop a sim- Companies interested in learning more about Milan should plified specification and certification process that guaran- get in touch at [email protected] tees interoperability amongst Milan certified devices. Also, manufacturers involved in Milan will continue to develop the program to meet new and changing market demands.

Avnu Alliance is a platform where strong competitors and like-minded companies can work together in a clear and defined environment. This kind of collaboration amongst competitors to develop Milan could not have been done without the framework provided by Avnu Alliance. Member- ship in Avnu Alliance gives manufacturers a voice to collec- tively define the market requirements to meet their unique development needs for a fully realized professional AV network solution.

Manufacturers that rely on the market’s proprietary technology are limited by one company’s vision and decisions on development and support for that technology. With Avnu Alliance, manufacturers benefit from having a say in the requirements and the refinement of standards, and they are not expected to share projections or product roadmaps with potential competitors to meet propriety suppliers’ business forecasts. Avnu Alliance is a community creating an interoperable ecosystem of low-latency, time-synchronized, highly reliable networked devices using open standards. Avnu creates comprehensive certification programs to ensure interoperability of networked devices. The foundational technology enables deterministic synchronized networking based on IEEE Audio Video Bridging (AVB) / Time Sen- sitive Networking (TSN) base standards. The Alliance, in conjunction with other complementary standards bodies and alliances, provides a united network foundation for use in professional AV, automotive, industrial control and consumer segments.

© 2018 by Avnu Alliance. All rights reserved. Avnu™, Avnu Alliance™, and the Milan and Avnu design and logos are trademarks and of the Avnu Alliance. All other names and logos are trademarks and/or service marks of their respective owners. Specifications and content subject to change without notice.

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